Hillary avoids China disputes, hands out teddy bears

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SHANGHAI, May (Reuters): Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed out teddy bears to Chinese children as she toured the Shanghai World Expo Saturday and carefully skirted the United States' many policy disputes with China.
At the start of a four-day visit whose centerpiece will be talks in Beijing about strategic and economic matters, Clinton spent a misty morning at the Expo, an emblem of China's rise on the world stage.
Dressed in a powder blue jacket to match the Expo's plump, cartoonish mascot, Clinton walked through the US and Chinese national 'pavilions' shaking hands, posing for pictures and talking up the importance of people-to-people ties.
She avoided any public discussion of the issues that will occupy her in Beijing, including North Korea's suspected sinking of a South Korean warship, Iran's nuclear programme, and US calls for China to allow its currency to appreciate.